There's none as strange as mountain folk
by trexreaching
Summary: For our very own Kentucky Romeo and Juliet. A series of drabbles and deleted scenes between Sally Ann and Hasil Farrell.


Sally Ann flopped back on the bed and kicked her shoes off, sending one after another flying across the room and thudding into the closet door. She tilted her head to the side catching the wooden bird in her periphery. It was nicely made she could say that for it, or for the strange long haired man who made it. Was he a man? He walked with the unrestrained wildness that they all did but there was a vulnerability to him. He'd been confident in the store but when he'd approached her outside work, walking amongst the stacks of mdf and forklifts, he'd been fidgeting fingers and knotted tongues. He'd been more of a nervous boy talking to a girl than a dangerous hillbilly. She couldn't believe he'd asked her out and that even though she'd blown him off as any sensible young woman would do when approached by a man in the darkness, she'd been sorry about it. She'd never been asked out before. It was nice. Even coming from him, maybe because it came from him? She didn't want to be sure.

She might have been sure. There was certainly something about him. Charming, exotic mystery, those eyes...

"Hey."

Richie was in the doorway a sweating beer in his hand. It wasn't even five o'clock yet but his tired eyes betrayed the impatience that drives a man to say 'fuck it' to something like sociably acceptable drinking hours.

"Hey," she sat up.

"Where'd you get the bird?"

The instinct to lie was so sudden and so strong it was out of her mouth before she could stop it. "Clearance."

He quirked a disbelieving brow. "Clearance?"

Sally Ann shrugged nonchalantly as possible without it looking like an act. "I get staff discount, they were getting rid of them and I thought it was pretty." It wasn't like she thought she'd get in trouble if she told the truth, after all where the Farrell's went had nothing to do with her but instead of throwing the small strange token away she'd slipped it into her bag. She'd been raised on the stories of the Farrell's, of the magic they believed in, of the cousins they married and the ones they ate. Of how they killed the people from town if they thought they were trespassing on their mountain. No one was quite sure where the property lines were and the Police were always telling them to steer clear if they don't want to lose their legs to bear traps. Everyone stayed well away, shook their fists from the base of the mountain where it was safe. The only ones brave enough to step onto the slopes were children daring one another before darting in and out quick as lightning screaming and gloating. She'd never seen them before and in a way she was thrilled she'd been working that night. Finally she knew what all the fuss was about. Maybe it was because her brother wouldn't understand her excitement that she lied. There would be no explaining that she'd taken the bird as a souvenir. A trophy of her close encounter with the local bogey men.

"You bought that?" he pointed at it.

She blinked. "Yeah."

"How much it cost ya?"

She didn't flinch. "Two dollars."

"Two dollars." her brother echoed picking up the tiny bird. It looked fragile in his meaty palm and she fought the urge to reach out and snatch it back all the while hissing at him to be careful or he'd break it. He turned it over examining ever inch, staring at the bottom for a traders mark or label. The absence of one wouldn't be incriminating, not really, but her heart was already pulsing in her throat. "I heard a rumour."

"Oh yeah?" she watched as he continued to handle the bird.

"Farrells been in town."

She almost stuttered. "They came in to the store on quads the other night. Took some stuff, that's why I was late home with the car. They made a mess."

He gave her a curious look "They say anything to you?"

She thought about the youngest one wrapped in the blanket, with the dream catcher tattoo. ' _Hey, you look at me. There you go. Now what's your name?'_ "No. Just took things and left."

At length he continued. "I heard one of them's been around town since."

There was something in his tone that made it sound like he was telling her off. She tried to think about what she'd done but no one had been around in the yard when the Farrell boy had asked her out so as paranoid as she was she knew it was just that, paranoia. She rolled her eyes with a little impatient huff eager to be done talking about this. "They come down here sometimes I guess so what?"

"Don't sass mouth me." Richie pointed a threatening finger at her.

She swallowed around the knot in her throat.

"You see them you stay away hear?"

"I know," she replied in a small docile voice. "They scare me anyway, they're crazy."

She thought about the men on quadbkes. Head to toe in leather, knives strapped on their sides like it was normal, like regular folk did that all the time. They'd scowled at people as they ripped past them leaving them gaping then growling at them for it. They'd torn stuff from shelves like they were owed it. It spoke to Hasils credit that he could walk into that place, dressed exactly like them, looking like he'd been carved from the same mould and she'd find him the sanest of the bunch. She wasn't an idiot she knew he was a distraction, something used to stop her from doing something stupid like trying to stop them - as if she could. But still she'd found herself appreciating the way he held her gaze, trying to distract her from their mayhem and in doing so helping to soothe her jack hammering heart.

"They ain't just crazy. They're small minded and dangerous." He said angrily.

Sally Ann didn't doubt it for some but not for all. Hasil didn't seem small minded. Uneducated, sure, but not small minded. For sure he was persistent, coming to her with that hopeful smile and those big sad brown eyes when she turned him down. It was like saying no to a dopey dog. A dog with a moustache..."Okay."

Her brother nodded and took a swig of beer. "I'm just lookin' out for ya you know?" she nodded respectfully. "You ever see them over the bridge you tell me okay?"

"Okay." she lied. Richie lingered a moment then when he seemed content he nodded once and disappeared out of the door.

Sally Ann sighed and rolled onto her stomach.

"Stay away from the Farrell's." she whispered to herself. But what if one wouldn't stay away from her? And what if she liked it?


End file.
